Thankfully, the scientists don't have to raise a bunch of pandas in order to keep up the supply of cathelicidin-AM. Yan and colleagues have figured out a way to synthesize the compound artificially in a lab.

The compound in Asiatic black bear bile is also widely and cheaply available in synthetic form, but over 16,000 bears continue to be enslaved and tortured. The fact that rhinoceros horn is the same material as human fingernails hasn't stopped the faithful of traditional Asian medicines from bankrolling the extinction of this magnificent animal.

The one thing that may save the panda from a similar fate to the moon bears, rhinos, and tigers, is that it's such an iconic animal and the face of the World Wildlife Fund. Going by the precedent of moon bears however, I suspect there will be poaching in the near future because ignorant people will believe only the real deal will cure their impotence.